Minstrel Tales
by Heroe
Summary: A series of poems related to the events and people of the Seven Kingdoms and beyond.
1. Brienne of Tarth

**Summary**: Poetic tribute to George R. R. Martin's least morally ambiguous character.

**Disclaimer**: _A Song of Ice and Fire_ (c) George R. R. Martin. _Game of Thrones_, television show, (c) HBO and George R. R. Martin.

**BRIENNE OF TARTH**

Lo the maiden not so fair,  
wide of mouth and straw-like hair.  
Brawny and with crooked nose,  
no use for laced dress or dainty hose.

"Brienne the Beauty" oft declared,  
cruel words to which she only stared.  
If the naysayers could just ken,  
that her beauty lay within.

A warrior so brave and bold,  
valorous tales would hence be told.  
Fierce and strong as a man,  
from a battle never ran.

Truth and honor were her way,  
in this world both harsh and gray.  
Loyalty given 'til the end,  
knees otherwise refused to bend.

Lo the maiden o' so fair,  
for her appearance she did not care.  
Clear blue eyes and steady gaze,  
with noble feats to amaze.

**THE END**


	2. Jaime Lannister: The Kingslayer

**Summary**: Poetic tribute to Jaime Lannister. Depicts related events through book three, _A Storm of Swords_.

**Disclaimer**: _A Song of Ice and Fire_ (c) George R. R. Martin. _Game of Thrones_, television show, (c) HBO and George R. R. Martin.

**Author's Note**: Updated with the addition of parts (ii) and (iii).

**THE KINGSLAYER**

**i**

Born as healf of a tainted whole,  
even for the son of Leo, heavy would be the toll.  
Reared on the valiant tales of olde,  
a fool's dream - to be lauded brave and bold.

O' aspiring knight of the chivalric code,  
such a lamentable denouement this didst bode.  
Tho fair of head and bonny of face,  
curst to be a man of reputed disgrace.

Upon five and ten he donned the white,  
soon besmirched by sovereign spite.  
Woodness thence plagued his brotherly vow,  
perennial descent making it impossible to bow.

Alas, he knew the blade must fall,  
else 'twould be the ruination of them all.  
Thus, cleaved the sword that was sworn to defend,  
and the reign of mad Aerys was brought to an end.

"Slayer of the king," he was so crowned,  
traitor to the oath in which he had been bound.  
With a nose of wax and double-edged smile,  
our young lion welcomed their collective revile.

**ii**

Thence came the union of a lioness and stag,  
a fate that was foretold by a squat, yellow-eyed hag.  
Despite celebrated ascendancy to the throne,  
in the marriage bed, seeds of discontent were sown.

Three were sired and, whilst blue of blood,  
from royal lineage naught did bud.  
Fie, begotten from incestuous delight,  
heirs to a false birthright.

Enter the great and noble house of the north,  
from whence a straight-fingered hand stepped forth.  
A more principled fellow was not to be found,  
"Winter is coming," he would oft resound.

As the greensighted child took flight,  
No one could predict the resulting blight.  
The imp being accused of transgression,  
thereby inciting Lannister-Stark aggression.

Ad interim, secrets of hierarchy unraveled,  
withal the adulterous queen conspired and graveled.  
Sotted with merry-go-down and mortally gored,  
a humiliating downfall for the tenterbelly lord.

Rise of the bastard prince, much afflicted,  
his cruel acts would leave the kingdom conflicted.  
A tetrad of insurgents at a wrongful behead,  
vying for title, pledged to either defeat or be dead.

**iii**

To the battlefield our kingslayer didst ride,  
only to be routed by a younghede untried.  
And so he was made a prisoner of war,  
going out with a whimper in lieu of a roar.

Motherly sentiment would see him freed,  
with a treasonous bargain to which he agreed.  
On the road to King's Landing he staunchly embarked,  
a journey that left him irrevocably marked.

In the strange company of a fierce lady knight,  
he regained a sense of what is true and right.  
Tho with the loss of his swordhand talent,  
he would become woefully stoop-gallant.

Anon, a realm in turmoil he dost find,  
one scion venenated and the other consigned.  
Moreover, the half-man was said to stand trial,  
for a deed that lacked his usual cunning and guile.

Of the high guard he taketh command,  
thus divested of all entitlements and land.  
Thereon resolved that conscience shall dictate,  
even if it meant violating the rules of family and state.

The dwarf was pardoned via clandestine release,  
and, æfter sinful confession, there was no way to appease.  
Vengeance was sworn, pitting kin against kin,  
the first to fall being the venerable Lord Tywin.

Albeit in sorrow, his restored philotimy endured,  
by virtue of beauty chevalier, keeper of the oath, he was reassured.  
Morality and honor coexisted, as he once believed they must,  
and, mayhap with repentance, he could yet be Goldenhand the Just.

**THE END**

**Terms to Know**:

Ad interim: In the meantime

Anon: In a short time, after a while

Chevalier: An archaic word for knight

Curst: Cursed

Fie: Used to express disgust or disapproval

Graveled: Perplexed, confounded

Greensighted: Ability to have prophetic dreams, called green dreams

Healf: One-half

Leo: Lion

Merry-go-down: Strong ale

Nose of Wax: Fickle personality

Philotimy: Love of honor

Stoop-gallant: Something that humbles the great and makes one a mere man

Straight-fingered: Thoroughly honest

Tenterbelly: A glutton

Tetrad: Four

Venenated: Poisoned

Withal: Despite that, nevertheless

Woodness: Madness, insanity

Younghede: Youth


	3. Sansa Stark: Vicissitude

**Summary**: Poetic tribute to the metamorphosis of Sansa Stark in relation to the seasons.

**Disclaimer**: _A Song of Ice and Fire_ (c) George R. R. Martin. _Game of Thrones_, television show, (c) HBO and George R. R. Martin.

**VICISSITUDE**

Child of summer, she was first called,  
when finery and baubles still kept her enthralled.  
O' those innocent and halcyon days,  
for a return to yester she oft prays.

Mocked little bird during the fall,  
the world overcast by an unforgiving pall.  
Embittered at falsities on every side,  
her childish tears long since dried.

Winter approached with spurious title,  
forced to deny the surname held vital.  
Yet proven a lady of unforeseen will,  
reforged from porcelain to ivory to steel.

Tried and true wolf afore the spring,  
with a vicious cunning to make her bite sting.  
Lo enemies of the north - _beware_,  
for vengeance shall be her fruit to bear.

**THE END**

**Terms to Know:**

Afore: Before

Halcyon Days: A period of peace and happiness; an idyllic time

Lo: Look; see

Oft: Often

Spurious: Of illegitimate birth; of falsified or erroneously attributed origin; of a deceitful nature or quality

Vicissitude: A change or variation occurring in the course of something

Yester: Yesterday


End file.
